Embracing Fate
by MakoEyes13
Summary: Post movie. After coming back from Japan Robin makes a mistake that nearly gets Raven killed. When the rest of the Titans decide that Robin no longer be on the team will a fateful encounter with an old enemy save him? Or lead him to ruin. MUlti pairings.


**Well here I go again. So many requests from my friends are coming in that I can't ignore them. So here is an old Teen Titans story that I started around the end of the show. I guarantee that it is unlike most other Teen Titan fics out there. So without further ado.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans. If I did Slade would have had his own movie.**

* * *

**Chapter 1: The Proposal**

"Come on. Show yourself, I know that you're here."

"Hey man, maybe you made a mistake. Maybe he won't show."

"Trust me. He's going to be here."

Two teens sat on the roof of an old warehouse waiting for something to happen. One of the teens was dressed in a rather gaudy looking uniform. His uniform consisted of green pants and a dark red chest plate. The uniform didn't look like much but it was bullet proof and fire resistant. He wore a black cape that blended in with the night and had a yellow inline. His black knee high boots were lined with light weight steel and were obviously designed for combat. The leather gloves that he wore were green in color and trailed down to his elbows. Covering his eyes was a black eye mask with white lenses. Glinting in the moonlight was a golden belt around his waist. The teen himself was very pale skinned and had medium length, spiky black hair. The other teen was more machine than human. His metal components shone brightly in the moonlight, his blue circuitry glowed dimly in the dark. His left eye glowed red in the night.

His red eye shifted to his friend. "I really don't think that he is going to show Robin. We haven't seen a hint of him in months."

The young man in the multicolored uniform looked at his friend. "I'm telling you Cyborg. Slade is going to show," he deadpanned.

Robin and Cyborg made up two fifths of the of the superhero team, the Teen Titans. Cyborg was the technical genius of the team and second in command. Robin was the leader of the team and was one half of Gotham City's Dynamic Duo. Right now the two teen heroes were lying in wait for one of Jump City's most dangerous villains. A man known only as Slade. Slade had been a constant terror on the city and the Teen Titans alike. He was a very dangerous man that had the ability to bring down all of the Titans at once. Cyborg was never sure why, but Robin and Slade seemed to have a rivalry that started out of nowhere. He couldn't understand Robin's obsession with the madman. He had always just let Robin do as he wished but maybe now it was time for him to ask.

Robin pulled out a yellow and black object from his utility belt. He flipped it open and tapped one of the buttons. "Starfire, are you ready?"

There was some static over the communicator before a very feminine voice answered back. _"I am in position Robin," _Starfire answered.

"Beastboy?"

_"Yeah I'm here,"_ the changeling replied. _"Why are we here anyways,"_ he whined.

Robin ignored him and changed the setting again. "Are you in position Raven?"

_"…Yes,"_ she said in her monotone.

Robin and Cyborg shared a glance. Even though she answered in her normal tone Robin could tell that something was wrong. He had known her for too long and she was practically his best friend. She had been acting weird ever since the team had come back from Japan.

"Raven is there something wrong?" There was a long pause and she didn't answer him back. "Raven? What's going on?"

_"I have a bad feeling about all of this Robin. I'm…I think something bad is going to happen to you."_

Cyborg smirked. Raven tried to act like she didn't care about anyone but it was clear that she did. Robin seemed to be especially able to work her up. "You'll be fine as long as you don't do anything stupid."

Robin smirked at him and raised the communicator to his lips. "Relax Raven. Everything will be fine. Trust me."

_"Fine__. I'll wait for orders."_

"Right. Be careful." Robin shut the communicator and placed it back on his belt. He leaned his head back against the old air conditioning unit. "What do you think about all of that?"

Cyborg smirked at him. "She usually has a creepy way of being right about these things." Robin just sort of smiled and nodded. "Can I ask you Rob? What is the deal with you and Slade?"

The smile on Robin's face turned bitter. "No offense Cy, you wouldn't be able to understand."

At this Cyborg shrugged his shoulder. He was really starting to get tired of Robin ignoring that question. In fact he was about to say something until some movement below caught his attention. "Hey man, I think we got something happening down there."

Robin opened his eyes. He shuffled over to the window and peered down through the dingy glass. He could see someone below. The figure was tall and broad in the shoulders. He wore a leotard type outfit that was black on one side and orange on the other. Around his shoulders was metal plated armor. He was wearing a black and orange mask that revealed only the right eye. It looked like their informant was right. Slade really was working out of this warehouse.

"Here we go," Robin replied.

Cyborg looked at Robin with a confused look on his face. "What do you mean? Hey wait!"

Robin ignored his friend's calls and jumped down through the glass window. He wanted all of this to end tonight, one way or another.

* * *

"What were you thinking?!" Cyborg shouted. "What is wrong with you? Raven got hurt because of you. She could have gotten killed!" 

"I said that I'm sorry!" Robin retorted.

Robin, Cyborg and the rest of the Titans returned to the tower after a failed mission. It turned out that Slade was a fake. Just another one of his life like drones. Robin had been foolish enough to fall for the trick again. This time Raven had gotten hurt because of him. One of the robots had caught him off guard by activating a crane that held some metal beams. He swung the beams at Robin full force but Raven jumped in the way. She was able to block the attack by creating a telekinetic shield. However, the force of the swing knocked her back into a wall. For the rest of the fight she barely moved. It got to the point where they had to actually retreat from the battle.

"I'm fine. Really." Raven shuffled into the room being supported by Beastboy. She shrugged him off but kept her hand over her side. "It's no big deal."

"Stop covering for him!" Beastboy growled. "You always do that!"

"Leave her alone you idiot."

Beastboy turned and glared at Robin. "Don't you call me an idiot! You're the one that screwed up!" He shouted, waving his arms. "I'm tired of you and your little Slade obsession."

"Well you know what I'm tired of hearing about?" Robin asked angrily. "I'm tired of hearing about Terra. I miss her to. But you know what? She's gone! Get over it!"

Beastboy growled angrily. He pulled his fist back and tried to punch Robin in the face. Robin saw the attack coming from a mile away. He shifted to the side and curled his hand around the changeling's wrist; he pulled hard and stuck his leg out so that Beastboy tripped and fell on his face. Robin sighed and closed his eyes. The last thing that he wanted to do was start a fight with his friend. He walked over to Beastboy and offered him a hand to help him up.

"Here," he said, "let me help you up." Beastboy smacked his hand away and jumped to his feet. He wasn't going to let this one slide. He kicked at Robin's ribs but Robin easily caught his attack. He hit Beastboy sharply in the chest, knocking him back several feet. "You idiot!"

Beastboy tried to rush him again, but Starfire was able to restrain him with her immense strength. "Please stop! Friends must not fight!"

"You wouldn't understand! You've never been in love!"

"You had no idea what happened to me back in Gotham!"

"What now! Are you going to lay some kind of sob story down?" Beastboy asked in a whiney voice. "What's the matter? Daddy didn't love you enough?"

Robin's entire body stiffened, his fist started to tremble in anger. Raven walked over to Robin and tried to place a comforting hand on his shoulder. Robin batted her hand away and glared at Beastboy. He tried to rush the green teen but Cyborg grabbed him around the waist.

"That's enough!" He shouted.

"Robin you must calm down!" Starfire cried.

Raven walked up to the two teens and placed her hand on Robin's shoulder. "Robin…please calm down," she requested gently. She turned to Beastboy and glared heatedly at him. "You need to watch your mouth."

The two boys seemed to calm down a little but they didn't stop glaring at one another. "Robin."

"…What?"

"I've had enough of this man." Everyone looked at Cyborg with curious stares. "You're one of my best friends, but you've been acting weird since the trip to Tokyo. And I have to put the safety of the team first."

Robin looked up at Cyborg with a suspicious look. "What…what are you trying to say?"

The young tech genius sat down on the couch and crossed his arms. "Look, if it was the first time that this happened, I wouldn't say anything. I know you feel really bad about Raven but this is one too many times." Robin shook his head; he knew what Cyborg was thinking. "I Don't think that you should be the leader anymore."

Raven's amethyst colored eyes opened wide. Both Beastboy and Starfire looked equally surprised. However, Robin was the most surprised out of all of them. He felt like a bucket of ice water had been dumped over his head. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. How could they do this to him? He had done so much for the team. Without him there would have been no team in the first place. Not only that, they would have been dead several times over by now.

"So…you don't think that I should be leader anymore?" Robin asked. He turned around to face the rest of the team with a glare. "Do the rest of you feel this way?" He tried to sound angry but it came out as a mere croak.

Beastboy lowered his head and rubbed his arm. "Maybe…you know…just for a little while."

Robin shook his head and looked over at Starfire. "What do you think?" Starfire didn't say anything but just rubbed her arm bashfully. "Oh come on!"Robin sighed and lowered his head. "Okay Raven, looks like it's down to you."

"What?"Her eyes shifted between Robin and the rest of the team. Without a unanimous vote they couldn't keep Robin from being the leader. How was she supposed to choose between her best friend and the rest of her friends? "I…I can't," she stated emotionlessly. "Don't make me choose."

Robin sighed and shook his head. He knew that she would say something like that. The bond that they shared helped them understand one another better than anyone else could. Trying to maintain the dignity that he still had, he simply ran a hand through his hair. He looked at Raven and gave a slight shrug of his shoulders.

Beastboy shook his head. "Your one shade away from becoming Slade himself. Are you even sure that you are on the right side?" He meant it as a harmless statement but there was an accusatory edge to his voice.

Despite how calm Robin tried to look, Raven could tell that he was angry. "So that's how you all feel?" Everyone but Raven nodded their heads. "I thought you all were my friends? But I guess I was wrong." Starfire tried to say something but he waved her statement off. "I've risked my life for you guys many times. But if that means nothing, then maybe I should leave for good."

Robin turned around and walked down the hall towards his room, leaving the others standing in quiet awe in the common room. "Who the hell needs him anyways?" Beastboy muttered. Starfire silently followed him out of the room.

Cyborg lifted one of his robotic arms up and rubbed his temple. Raven turned around and glared up at her robotic friend. "Normally I would keep my mouth shut," she said in her monotone. "But are you happy about this?"

"This isn't what I wanted Raven."

"Isn't it?"

Cyborg's normal eye opened wide at her accusation. Sure there were moments when he thought that Robin wasn't being a very good leader. Or a good teammate, but he was still his friend. Just because he didn't want him as the leader did it really mean that he didn't want him on the team at all?

* * *

Robin walked around his room gathering up items and putting them in a black duffle bag. The few civilian clothes that he owned, a couple of copies of his uniform (though he doubted he would need then now), some of his equipment, a few criminal persona files and other important things were going with him. He sat down on his bed and looked over to the nightstand. On the nightstand was a picture of the entire team that had been taken in Japan. Robin's face hardened; he put his hand on the picture and knocked it over. There was one thing he didn't need to take with him. 

Just as he was getting ready to leave there came a knock at the door. Robin stopped zipping up his bag and looked up. "You can come in Raven."

The door slid open and Raven walked into the room. Her eyes immediately moved to the bag that was on his bed. Instead of saying anything she walked into the room and sat down on his bed. There was a moment of awkward silence between the two of them. Surprisingly enough it was Raven that decided to break the silence.

"How did you know it was me?" She asked in slight curiosity.

Robin sat down next to her on the bed and smirked. "Our bond remember?" Raven nodded slightly. "That and you're the only person besides me that knocks," he finished with a small chuckle.

A smile ghosted Raven's lips then disappeared the next instant. "…I didn't want this. I didn't want this to happen," she whispered. It was so light that Robin barely heard her.

"…I know. But it makes sense."

"What do you mean?" Raven turned her head to look at Robin. She couldn't hide the slight hint of curiosity in her eyes.

"What Beastboy said about me…being like Slade."

Raven quirked an eyebrow and shook her head. "You can't be serious." Her voice raised a few octaves and that was as close as she got to yelling. "What are you thinking Robin?"

"Sometimes my ambition can get in the way."

Raven put her hand on his knee in an attempt at comfort. "Don't let what Beastboy said get to you. You are nothing like Slade. Nothing."

Robin smiled and placed his hand over hers. Raven blushed slightly and a few lights out in the hall shattered. "Maybe you are right. I wonder if we'll find out one day."

Again things were followed by an uncomfortable silence. It wasn't like Raven to do most of the talking, but for some reason she couldn't help it when she was around Robin. "What will you do now?"

"Well I can't go back to Gotham. Not after what I said when I left," he replied. He stood up and finished zipping all of the compartments on his bag. "I have an apartment in the city."

"You never said anything."

"I got it in case things went bad. Looks like I made a good choice," he laughed bitterly. Seeing that Raven wasn't amused he shook his head. "Anyways, I guess that I can continue the crime fighting thing. Probably just on my own." He lifted the bag up off of the bed and slung it over his shoulder. "…I guess this is it."

"Robin…"

Robin placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled. "I'll be fine. We both will." He closed his eyes and sighed. "I don't want to sound cold, but it might be best for you to forget me. Goodbye Raven."

The young telekinetic had to force her emotions back down before they got too out of control. Raven watched Robin walk towards the door of the room. Just before he could leave Raven leapt from the bed. In a rare show of 'weakness' she ran up to Robin and threw her arms around him. Robin stopped dead in his tracks when he felt the small amount of weight that Raven put on him. She rested her head on his shoulder so that a lock of her violet hair hung down over his shoulder.

"Robin…I won't forget you," she whispered. "You taught me to have hope. I don't want you to go."

Robin reached up and covered both of her hands with his. "I have to. But I won't forget that you saved my life to." Robin turned around and smiled at her. "I was lucky to have met you. You showed me there was a reason to hope." Robin broke away from her and smirked again. "See ya around Rave."

Raven watched him leave the room with a sad expression on her face. She glanced around the room and shuddered. It seemed so empty without all the newspaper articles of criminals plastered on the wall. She walked over to the bed and sat down. Noticing the turned over picture she reached over and picked it up. The Robin in the picture had his arms around hers and Starfire's waist. Beastboy and Cyborg were in the background making weird faces and she herself was blushing. Her lips twitched and she set the picture down.

"Everything will work out."

Robin leaned against the wall outside of his room and sighed. He knew that leaving was going to be hard on Raven as much as himself. The two of them were best friends and knew each other better than anyone else. Robin needed her and in some way he knew that Raven needed him to. He was one of the few people that she could really rely on and vice-versa. As he walked down the hall, Robin was forced to think about that. He hadn't really relied on anyone since he lived with Bruce. So how had this one shy girl been able to affect him so much? He would probably never understand how this had happened. His eyes were glued to the ground as he walked. Considering the fact that he designed most of the tower himself he could tell where he was going without really looking.

Just as he reached the elevator a pair of purple boots entered his eyesight. He followed the body all of the way up until his masked eyes locked onto a pair of large green eyes. Starfire stared nervously back at her leader and friend. It was obvious that she was too nervous to say something, so Robin decided to start.

"I guess that our date on Saturday is off?" Starfire started to say something. "Tch. Don't bother."

Robin walked by the orange skinned alien without even looking at her, he couldn't stand to. After she voted him out he couldn't stand to look her in the face. He used to care about her a lot; it was amazing how things could change in just an instant. His anger was barely in check and if he looked at her he may end up attacking her. And that was a mistake that he did not want to make. The elevator ride down to the hangar only took him a few seconds. He stepped out of the brightly lit elevator and into the dark hangar. As he walked along the hangar the automated security lights turned on. Finally his eyes landed on the object of his search.

"There she is," he whispered.

Sitting in the middle of the spot of light was a crimson red motorcycle. The bike was a modified 491 c.c., liquid cooled, motocross style bike. Yellow R's adorned both sides of the bike's sleek design. Robin sat down on the bike and ignited the ignition. The bike roared to life bringing a sense of calm to Robin. He always loved being on his bike. The freedom that he felt was overwhelming and always made him feel more at ease. Robin revved the bike again and spun the vehicle around so that it was facing the other way. He watched as the garage doors slowly open and smiled. After shifting the weight of his bag so that it was more centered he slipped his helmet on. Robin lowered the face shield and gunned the engine.

The R-cycle shot off at incredible speed. He maneuvered the bike out of the garage and into the underwater tunnel that they used to get off of the island. As he sped by he could see some fish and other aquatic creatures swimming by the glass tunnel. Knowing full well that the glass was reinforced he accelerated. He pulled the handlebars to guide the bike over to the wall and ignited the turbo on the engine. The bike picked up enough speed for him to ride on the 'wall' of the tube. At the end of the glass tunnel he could see exit opening up. He tore down the tunnel faster and shot up out of the opening.

Robin and the R-Cycle shot up out of the opening and landed on the street. The bike bounced and he had to skid to a halt. He turned his head around to make sure that the entrance to the tunnel closed back up. When he saw the section of street close back up a cold chill spread throughout his body. A realization dawned on him. All of this was for real. He wasn't the leader of the Titans anymore, he wasn't even a member. Raven's question ran through his head again. What was he going to do? Where was he going to go? While it was true that he had an apartment in the city it didn't help him decide what he was going to do for the rest of his life. Even with all of the college level courses that he had already taken it would be hard for someone like him to find a job. And after being a superhero for so long, there really was no other job that could compare.

Robin rolled his shoulders and sped off down the alley. He turned to the right, driving out on one of the city's main streets. He tore down the street, weaving in and out of the various vehicles on the crowded street. It didn't matter if he was breaking the law on the speed limit or not. To all of the cops he would just be out on a mission. That was one good thing about being a superhero. Once and a while you could break the occasional small law. Robin hated to abuse the system but when he needed a stress reliever he was glad that he could speed down the street on his motorcycle. By pulling hard on the handlebars he was able to make a really sharp right turn. This street was just a side street and wasn't as crowded as the previous one.

A small drizzle started from seemingly out of nowhere. He screeched to halt just behind a car when it stopped at a red light. He sighed and his eyes traveled down to the pavement. Jump City was Robin's city but it paled in comparison to Gotham. Back in Gotham he had a family. Sure it was dysfunctional but he still had one. Not to mention that Gotham's nightlife was far more interesting than the one here. If he were in Gotham right now he could be participating in one of the midnight runs. He missed the midnight runs greatly and he couldn't find them anywhere here. A car horn broke him out from his reverie. He shook his head and looked up to see that the light had already turned green. Robin accelerated down the street, trying to put the memories of Gotham behind him.

Robin had barely accelerated to 50 M.P.H. before he noticed that something was wrong. At just the very edge of his visor he saw a red glare. The teen hero looked up and saw a giant sphere of crimson energy coming straight at him from the sky. In a reflex movement Robin shifted his weight and turned the bike sideways. He intentionally grounded the bike so that it was sliding sideways across the ground. Robin and the bike just barely skidded under the attack. As he went under the blast he could feel the heat from the blast and the force o the attack caused him to lose his grip on the bike. The R-Cycle flew out from under him and skidded away, several feet ahead. Robin himself hit the ground hard and tumbled across the pavement for several feet. When he finally skidded to a halt he just laid still on the ground. Robin lifted his head from the ground. His hearing was going in and out. Through his blurry vision he could make out people scattering from the street.

Robin slowly pushed himself to all fours, a sharp pain running through his head. Once the wave of pain and slight nausea passed he was able to sit on his knees. His entire body was sore but he was lucky enough to have not broken anything. He reached up with shaky arms and unstrapped his helmet. When he finally managed to pull the helmet off he threw it to the side. Robin reached around his back and pulled the strap on the duffle bag over his head. There were a few more muffled and broken yells from the people on the street. Robin shook his head and the screams started to come in clearer. The Boy Wonder forced himself to stand up on shaky legs and survey the damage done. When he saw his motorcycle lying on the sidewalk he groaned in anger. The paint job looked pretty scratched up and there were some good sized dents in the frame. The damage wasn't too heavy but it would still take a hefty fine to fix it.

"Now, I'm pissed," he muttered.

"Now, now Robin, what would you be doing out here all on your own?"

The young teen turned on his heels and his eyes widened behind his mask. "Great," he moaned. "This is the last thing that I need."

Standing in front of him was a man that was maybe in his fifties. He had spiky white hair that came up on the sides. He was tall and lanky with no facial hair. Running along one portion of his face and head was a long red scar that made his head look like a baseball. Instead of any normal clothes he was dressed rather strangely, just like Robin. He wore long robes of snow white that had gold designs all over the front. Robin braced himself and took a step back. He knew the man in front of him to be incredibly dangerous but something was different. Last time Robin saw him he could have sworn that the man was part robot.

"Blood," he said with narrowed eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"You aren't happy to see me?" Blood asked in his sophisticated voice.

Robin cracked his neck and started to slowly circle the villain. "Brimming with joy," Robin responded sarcastically. "I wonder what brings you here. Got more people to brainwash?"

"Well someone is testy." Brother Blood started to circle Robin as well. "I just saw you all by your lonesome and decided to say hello. Where are the rest of the Titans?" Robin tensed slightly. Had it been anyone else this would have gone unnoticed but Blood caught the sign of annoyance. His cold eyes shifted over to Robin's duffle bag and he smirked. "Ah I see. So you have decided to leave the Teen Titans behind and pursue your own path?"

"Decided to leave isn't exactly the phrase I would choose," Robin muttered.

"What was that?"

"Oh, nothing. Let's start the dance shall we?"

"Why Robin, whatever do you mean?"

"You know the drill," Robin smirked. "You tell me why you are here and I'll stop you."

Brother Blood laughed haughtily. "Very well then," he sighed. "As you know, I am at the head of the H.I.V.E. Organization. I'm looking to expand our organization. With a little effort the H.I.V.E. can take over Jump City and add it to our list of conquests."

Robin nodded. "Good plan. But I don't think that I am going to let you do that." Robin said it in such a lackluster way that it made Blood wonder a little. He reached behind his back and pulled out a metal bar. He pressed a release on the bar and it suddenly extended. "I'm ready when you are."

"I guess this means that we can't be friends." Blood drew his hands from his pockets. Robin was surprised to see that they looked like normal human hands. "Too bad. You would make an excellent agent."

"I would never join you!"

Robin launched himself at Blood, spinning his staff in an intricate pattern. Blood raised his hands and fire several small jets of red kinetic energy. Robin spun the staff in a circle and blocked the blasts with relative ease. In one swift motion he pulled out several explosive disks and threw them at his enemy. Blood released a wave of red energy that made the disks explode a safe distance from him. Blood tried to focus his eyes through the thick smoke that was produced by the disks. His senses picked up something that was coming from above. He looked up just in time to see Robin descending on him with his staff raised. The older man stepped to the side and Robin slammed his staff into the ground. The teenage hero twisted his body and brought the staff up with him. Blood sidestepped that attack as well and jumped away from him.

"You seem to be a little off of your game Robin," Brother Blood teased. "Is it because your friends aren't here?"

Robin resisted the urge to attack him straight out and flexed his free hand. "I could say the same about you. What happened to your little mechanical friends?"

Blood lifted his hands to study them. "I didn't feel whole. It's just taking awhile to get my skills back to top form."

"Are you sure you stand a chance without the extra power?"

"Now let me ask you something Robin. Did you leave the Titans on your own free will? Or did they help you with that?" Blood smirked snidely at the young teen.

Robin refused to let the villains taunting affect him. After the little spill he took on his bike he had been weakened. He had to try and keep his calm if he wanted a chance at winning. "Does it matter?"

Blood shrugged his shoulders. "I suppose not." He stretched his arms out and cracked his knuckles. "So far I have been severely disappointed with your display." Large bolts of red energy formed in the palms of his hands. "Now let's begin, with our lives at stake!

Brother Blood slammed his fist into the ground, creating a shockwave of crimson plasma. Robin couldn't move fast enough and the shock from the attack knocked him off of his feet. Robin landed on his back and saw Blood coming down at him from the sky. Robin rolled to the side and it was a good thing that he did. The power behind Blood's punch was enough to shatter the ground. The young teen rolled into a crouched position. When he looked back up he saw that the older man was holding his arm up in an x-pattern across his chest. The energy around his arms was palpable.

"Take this!"

Blood slashed his arms out in diagonal angles, releasing blades of pure red energy. The blades shot at Robin with incredible speed. The Boy Wonder jumped up in the air and arched his back like an Olympic high jumper. The first blade passed just beneath him and the other just over his head. When he hit the ground Robin twisted his hips and leapt back to his feet. Before he had the chance to block Blood was already launching another attack. The toe of his boot hit Robin dead in the temple, launching him into the air. Blood ran forward to follow up on his attack and Robin dropped his staff. He grabbed onto a nearby lamp post and used the momentum to swing around the pole and deliver a punishing kick to Blood's chest. The kick sent Blood sliding back wards across the ground; Robin pulled tight into himself and landed on the ground. He was breathing hard and began to favor his ribs.

"Good Robin!" Blood cried. "Very good!" He stood back to his feet and ran a hand through his hair. "Such talent being put to waste. You know that the H.I.V.E. isn't the only one that could benefit from your joining. We can give you a life that you never dreamed of Robin. We-"

"Save it!" Robin interjected. "I'm not like Cyborg. I won't fall for your sweet words or the promises spoken by a poison tongue."

"…Well said." Without warning the drizzle that had started a little while ago turned into a downpour. "Let this next move decide everything."

In one lightning fast move Robin drew five birdarangs from his utility belt and threw them at his enemy. Blood sighed and shook his head. When was Robin going to learn that a frontal assault wasn't going to have any chance against him? Imagine his surprise when the birdarangs flew passed him. The projectiles curved back around to return back to their owner. Blood tried to move but found that he was being constricted. He looked down and his eyes widened at what he saw. Wires attached to the end of the birdarangs had wrapped themselves around his torso. Robin caught his projectiles and leapt up into the air. When he was at the peak of his jump he threw them back down so that they stuck in the ground all around Blood's feet.

Brother Blood tried to move but the wires and birdarangs made sure that he was kept in place. He looked up to see Robin descending from the sky with a kick that was meant to take his head off. Quickly using his powers, he cut the wires and fired a large blast of kinetic energy at Robin. Even with all of his acrobatic skills there was no way that he could shift his weight enough to dodge the attack. Robin braced himself and he was hit dead on by the blast. The power hurtled him towards the wall of a nearby building. With a cry of pain he slammed into the brick wall at full force and fell to the rain soaked ground. Brother Blood looked a slight bit stunned, yet pleased, with the way Robin chose to attack him.

"Not bad," he admitted slightly awestruck. The surprised expression disappeared as quickly as it had come. "But you should have known that that would have no effect on me."

Robin lifted his head from the ground and smirked. "It's not over yet." He reached out one hand that was holding a small tube with a red button. His finger pressed down on the button and a shrill beeping sound filled the air.

Blood's eyes widened as he turned his head to the ground. The beeping sound was coming from the birdarangs and their beaks were flashing red. An explosion tore the quiet night air that set of subsequent explosions. "Arrgh!" Blood cried as the explosions engulfed him in a ring of fire.

Robin watched the fire swallow Blood up with an almost sick sense of satisfaction. After the punishment he had just received he would barely be able to stand let alone fight. He pressed both of his hands to the ground and tried to push himself up to all fours. Just as he reached his goal, the sound of boots tapping on the pavement reached his ears. But it couldn't be! Robin's eyes traveled up to see Blood standing over him with a superior smile on his face. Other than a few smudges of dirt on his uniform Brother Blood had taken no damage. That's when Robin realized how badly he lost. Blood hadn't even bothered to take off his cloak. Robin tried to force himself to stand but just couldn't make it. Resigning to his loss, he decided to accept is fate with dignity.

He swirled some of the blood around in his mouth and spat it out. "Aren't you going to kill me now?" He asked bitterly.

Brother Blood regarded him with a cynical sneer. "…No." Robin's eyes opened wide and he looked up at Blood. Blood knelt down so that he was closer to Robin's level. "I do not see the point in ending such promising talent. So one last time Robin," he said pointedly, "will you join us?"

Robin shook his head slowly. "No. I can't."

"And why not?!" He asked, turning angry. "Didn't your so called friend betray you?! Just toss you out on the street!"

"That's not the reason why!"

"Then what is?"

"I'm not…I'm not evil. I don't like crime."

Blood scoffed and looked Robin dead in his masked eyes. "You can't tell me that you didn't enjoy being Red X. Yes, I do know about that. And you can't tell me that the reason you joined Slade was just to save your friends." Robin was about to argue but Blood cut him off again. "A part of you enjoyed going against the law. It was exciting wasn't it? The freedom was exhilarating?"

**"NO!"** Robin shouted.

"Deny it all you want Robin. But there is a part of you that enjoys the darker side of life. The sooner you realize this, the sooner you will find your true path. The sooner you can be who you were meant to be."

"But…" Robin began feebly. True there was a small part of him that liked the freedom of being the Red X. A small part of him enjoyed not having to follow the law. Still, how could he just up and betray everything that he believed in? "How am I…how am I just supposed to abandon everything that I learned?"

Blood hadn't expected this. He didn't think that Robin could ever sound so small. He must have been privileged to a show of Robin's weaker side. "The same way that everyone who supposedly cares about you abandoned you." Blood reached out a hand and placed it on Robin's shoulder.

"Heh. It's true that everything I was taught went out the window when my frie…the Titans kicked me out." Robin got to his knees and pulled his shoulder away from Blood's hand. He shook his head, "I just don't know."

Instead of getting angry like Robin thought he would, Blood just smiled. He stood and offered Robin a hand. "Come on."

Robin glared at the hand that was offered to him. "Didn't you hear a word that I just said?" He asked in annoyance.

Blood nodded. "Yes. But you are not in any condition to be traveling on your own." As much as he hated to admit it, Robin knew that he was right. "Unless you want to stay out here in the rain, I would suggest that you come with me."

Robin didn't know how long he stared at Blood's hand before he finally accepted it. Yet here he was walking down the halls of the newly designed H.I.V.E. headquarters. He ran a hand through his sopping wet hair and glanced over at Brother Blood. Despite the fact that he had practically invited a superhero into his home, he seemed quite at ease. Perhaps there was something that he was missing? Robin shifted the weight of his duffle bag to his other shoulder. His right shoulder had been hurt pretty badly during their fight. Walking side by side, he passed by two strangely dressed teens. He recognized one of the teens a Kyd Wykked and the other See-More. See-More turned to look at him with a shocked expression. Kyd Wykkyd looked at him to but if he was shocked he didn't show it.

It brought a couple of questions to Robin's mind. The main one being: "How did you and all of the others get out of jail?"

Brother Blood turned to regard Robin with straight face. "We had some outside help."

Robin accepted this as a suitable answer until he could think of better questions. His mind was too muddled from getting kicked off of the team and his face off with Blood. Robin tried to look around the dark halls but it was too dark for him to see anything. Blood however seemed to know right where he was going. He took a right turn down one of the halls and Robin followed. After leading him down a couple more halls Blood stopped him just outside a pentagon shaped door with a yellow H printed on it. Blood's long fingers reached over and typed in something on the keypad next to the door.

"This will be you quarters for the night." The metallic door slid open with a hiss and Blood stepped inside. "Don't be shy now."

"It's more a matter of being suspicious."

Robin stepped into the room and walked passed Blood. Before he could ask any more questions the room was flooded with light. Robin blinked to adjust his eyes. The room was rather bland at first glance. All there was were white walls, a steel floor, and at least a double sized bed in the far corner. With no color the main room looked very sterile. Through a divider in the room he could make out what appeared to be a kitchenette. On the right side of the room, next to the kitchen, was a large walk in closet. On the wall of the far side of the room was another door. Instead of the metal door that served as an entrance to the room, this door was made of solid oak wood. Robin glanced around the room with a nod. It wasn't that bad of a room.

"Not bad," Robin replied. "It could use a…human's touch. But not bad."

Blood chuckled a little. "You may stay here for the night. Tomorrow we shall talk business."

Robin turned around to say something but the door was already closing. The teen released a breath that he didn't realize he had been holding. He tossed his bag on the unmade bed and went to check the wooden door. He was hoping that it was a bathroom.

"Score!" He said, pumping his fist.

The bathroom was just as sterile as the adjoining room. It was tiled in white porcelain. The sink appeared to be chrome but the toilet and bath were both painted black. He looked around the room and nodded. He walked out to the main room and opened up the beaten bag. He pulled out a crimson towel and a pair of blue jeans. There was no one here so there wasn't much of a point in worrying about a shirt for now. He walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind him. He peeled off his uniform and threw it to the ground in a heap. A dark black and blue bruise covered the area over his ribs. There were some other areas on his body that were bruised and he had a few cuts here and there. He leaned over the tub and turned on the hot water in the shower full blast. Before stepping into the steaming hot shower he pulled his mask off and added it to the pile of clothes.

Robin stepped in the shower and hissed when the hot water washed over his wounds. He spent nearly a half an hour under the water before getting out. He grabbed the towel and dried himself off. When he was done he walked over to the steam covered mirror and swiped his hand across it. When he peered into the mirror he didn't see the masked eyes of the teen hero Robin. No, he saw the electric blue eyes of Richard Grayson. He sighed and ran a hand through his damp hair. When it was messy enough he changed into his jeans and picked up his uniform. He put his mask back on and threw the rest of the uniform in the trash.

"Great. I only have one more copy of the damn thing."

With a shake of his head he walked out into the main room. He walked over to the bed and pulled a black muscle shirt out of his bag. He slipped the shirt on just as the door to his room slid open. Figuring that it was Brother Blood coming back he didn't even bother to turn around.

"I thought that business came in the morning?" He asked in a slightly aggravated tone.

"I prefer to do business at night," said a feminine voice.

Robin's eye's shot open. It couldn't be who he thought it was. He turned around and a groan escaped his lips. It was. "What are you doing here?" He groaned.

**End Chapter**

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**Well that's the end of chapter one. Robin's in kind of a tough situation wouldn't you say? ****I wonder what will happen to the Boy Wonder ****next.**** Review and let me know what you guys thought of this. **


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